collopyfamilyfarm

Due to the forecasted snow (and we’re in the snowbelt) and the number of trees available (about 30) we will only be open this Saturday, December 14th.  In addition to Christmas trees, we have a few kissing balls and wreaths still available. Also, jams, bread, soup, and chicken. We’ll be open from 8am until dusk and hope to see you Saturday.

We’ll also have our hot cocoa, cookies and candy canes. And, complimentary tree shaking and wrapping is available.

Any questions, call 802-233-4805.

Very best wishes,
Sally & Bruce 🙂

Thank you so much for your support over the last two weekends! We hope you enjoyed your visit to Collopy Family Farm! We have almost met our goal in Christmas tree sales.

This weekend, December 14 & 15 will be our last open weekend. We have approximately 35 trees still available that are 6-9′ tall. Depending on how sales go on Saturday, we may not be open on Sunday.  Call 802-233-4805 if you’d like to confirm.

It was a pleasure to see so many returning families and meet so many new ones! We really enjoyed it and wished we could have spent more time chatting with you.

Again, thanks for your support! Very best wishes, Sally & Bruce 🙂

Since we started selling Christmas trees two years ago we’ve been asked “what do you do when you’re not selling trees?” During your visit we gave you the short version. Now we have created a page called “Christmas Tree Farming Throughout the Year”. It gives you a glimpse into what goes into creating your “perfect tree”.

You’ll find it under the page, Your Christmas Tree. Look for more additions to this page soon.

We’ll be open the weekend after Thanksgiving until sold out. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Cheers,
Sally & Bruce 🙂

Welcome to Cinnamon & Sugar Bear, the newest members of Collopy Family Farm. They are love bugs and seem happy in their new home. We have a lot to learn but can’t wait to see our grandsons riding them. Hoping to do pony rides in the near future.  For more photos visit our Photos page.

Cheers, Sally 🙂

A quick update on our previous post on goals. Irrigation – making progress – due to all the rain we’ve been able to procrastinate on it and focus on other projects. Built meat bird housing and they’re doing great. Check out the new photos under “Farm Photos” of how well your meat chickens live.  Farm stand will be built this fall and up and running next year. Invested in chicken processing equipment and hoping it arrives by this Friday! Replanted the berries and had extensive soil testing done to see what we’re doing wrong. Photos under “Farm Photos” show berry growth and weed issues being controlled with vinegar. Next year will be a better year for our blueberries – we’re not giving up! Lots of new photos of our Christmas trees. Watch for a blog entry this fall called “A Year in the Life of Your Christmas Tree”.

Meat chickens will be available August 5th. Reserve your organically raised, fabulous tasting chicken today. Price is $4.25/lb.

Until next time, stay dry, stay cool and stay well fed on local food.

Cheers,
Sally 🙂

Wow, where did my first year of full-time farming go? My office is much quieter, my travel almost non-existent, but my chores and to do list keeps me plenty busy. Now that’s it been a year it’s safe to say “I Love My New Career!”  We’re excited, a little intimidated, hopeful for cooperative weather, and crossing our fingers for as few set-backs as possible.

What’s needed: To buy, to build, to maintain
1) Irrigation system for berries and garden.  Expensive, yes; somewhat confusing to figure out on your own without buying a kit, yes; a must have in order to be successful, yes.
2) Build additional meat bird housing. We’ll raise 100 birds at once this year.
3) More electric fencing to enlarge meat bird housing area.
4) Build a farm stand.
5) Make a decision and purchase a chicken plucking machine.
6) Replant 27 blueberry plants that didn’t make it through the first year 😦
7 Remove tree stumps from last years sale and plant 100-150 more Christmas trees.
8) Hopefully start kiwi berry plants and a few pear trees. This isn’t firm because some of the issues surrounding this goal fall under the “Lessons We’ve Learned So Far” page, coming soon.
9) Shropshire sheep were a huge desire (for me anyway) to use as lawnmowers in our Christmas trees. After considerable research, we’ve decided to postpone this decision to another year.  You can will it, you can want it, but you can’t control it if they want to eat your trees!

Well, that should keep us busy for a few months.  Happy Spring!

Cheers,
Sally & Bruce 🙂

We’ve always been amazed by nature’s internal clock, especially since living on Fairfield Pond. We noticed after several years that ducks, geese, and birds seemed to return around the same time, often to the day and regardless of weather.

In spring, the winter farm planning wish list starts to feel a little frenzied. We watch the weather reports carefully and try to figure out what can be accomplished outside as early as possible. Our excitement and ticking clock mimics nature’s cheerful returns and their busy work of setting up house for the summer.

Check out our Nature Returning page for some history on ice out and bird returns.

Cheers,
Sally 🙂

We hope 2013 is off to a good start for you. Thank you for making our Christmas season a huge success. We hope you enjoyed visiting our farm as much as we enjoyed having you! Your participation in signing our guest book and allowing me to take photos (another passion) helped us fulfill a farm mission of building relationships and community. Check out some great photos under the Christmas Photos 2012 page. Remember, keep that tree watered if you’re still enjoying it.

We’ll be ordering meat chickens soon that will be available in late July. Let us know if you’d like to reserve some.

Very best wishes for a happy and healthy 2013.

Cheers,
Sally & Bruce 🙂

We’re so excited to have around 60 Christmas trees for sale in the 6-8 foot range. There are many more available 4-6 feet tall. We’ll be open the weekends of November 24&25, December 1&2 and 8&9 if trees are still available. The cost is $35, including shaking and bagging. Hot chocolate and cookies are on the house! Tarps and saws provided.

Hours are 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.  Please dress appropriately. The ground is flat but uneven. 

Also for sale: pumpkin pies, raspberry jam (singles and gift packs), meat chickens, bread, and kissing balls.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Cheers,
Sally & Bruce 🙂

We were determined to grow pumpkins this year and are happy to report it was a success! I planted 3 plants of jack-o-lanterns, which yielded 7 carving pumpkins and 3 plants of sugar pie pumpkins, yielding 15 baking pumpkins (see photos below). This amount produced 66 cups of pumpkin puree. So, we’ll have pumpkin pies for sale when you come for your Christmas tree!

Pumpkin is one of the very low calorie vegetables that’s packed with vitamins and minerals and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol. It’s also rich in fiber and anti-oxidants.  Pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of fiber and mono-unsaturated fatty acids, which are good for heart health. The seeds are concentrated sources of protein and minerals. 

For more details and a complete nutritional listing click on this link   http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/pumpkin.html       

We look forward to growing pumpkins next year and adding this healthy, fun and festive vegetable to our farm products.

Cheers,
Sally 🙂